Newbie Here...

Hello fellow anglers! Well I don't know where to begin..

I just moved to Texas with my folks, Grand Prairie to be precise. Lived outside of Cleveland Ohio for the last year, but a born and raised in Arizona. I only recently started fishing in Ohio so it's really been only a year or so since I've started. I was lucky enough to have a decently sized stocked private lake for the houses in the area I lived in. That's what sparked my interest and it's been love at first cast and since my first bass I was hooked!! All I've learned about fishing is the result of countless hours searching online and watching videos and it has taught me a lot but I felt this would be a great way to ask for some help from the locals. I'm a young guy just looking to dive head first into the wonderful world of fishing! So here I post looking for any tips pointers or if anyone wants fishing buddy for catching some good ol Texas bass. Thank you for giving this a read and look forward to becoming apart of the Texas fishing community!

Welcome to Texas and TFF! Lots of information on here, and plenty of great fisherman willing to give advice. If you're looking for a fishing buddy, check out the Partner Finder section. I've fished with a couple of people from there, and all were great experiences. Best of luck Kyle!

The TFF is a wealth of knowledge. Ask away and youll get your answers. Welcome BTW!

Thank you! Been doing a lot of looking on here and it's amazing!

Welcome, in just a couple months, I have made a few friends on here. Anytime you'd like to fish, I'm always down. Shoot me a PM, I suck at bass fishing but I love getting out.

If you guys could shout out any kinds of lures or baits you recommend for out here, had lots of luck with dark colored 4" plastic worms in Ohio, don't know if the bass out here are different haha, or if better luck is had with cranks or jigs? Spinners?, I apologize for the overload.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the sport. Welcome to spending a lot of time and money in this crazy past time. OTOH, IMO, there's no place that it's better spent, than in fishing. I'll echo what others have said in that the TFF is one of the best sites to gain a lot of knowledge from. One problem you'll come across, is sorting what's "good" information and what's not. The advent of the internet has made it much easier in some ways and much more complicated in others. Always remember that there really isn't a good substitute for time on the water. Unfortunately, most of us can't spend ALL their time fishing. IMO/E, as you say you're just starting out, you read and watch as much as you can. As I (and others) have said, TFF is a really good place to learn, Another is Bass Boat Central (many here are also members there). Bass Resource, IMO, is another good place to start. Again, welcome to the forum and enjoy.

You can't go wrong with a few square bill crankbaits, jigs, soft plastic flukes or creature baits, topwater frogs and Zara Spooks

Welcome to TFF!! If I can help with anything let me know!!

Welcome to the TFF, Texas Rigged plastics are hard to beat. They flat out catch fish

Welcome, fellow newbie!
As a 40-something guy who has fished casually all his life but finally getting serious about becoming a better bass fisherman, I also read a lot and watch as many videos on YouTube as I can, as well as try to spend as much time on the water as my wife and job will allow. My recommendation is to not worry about tournaments, personal bests, double-digit fish, or wall hangers at this time. I sure don't. I'm focusing on where to find fish, and working on my casting technique and lure presentation to get them to bite. When you're able set the hook and feel something fighting on the other end, any fish is a good fish. As far as baits, I would start out with a good, small selection of lures that will be productive in many different situations, particularly if you're walking the banks right now (I'm guessing you are...).

• Get you a good squarebill crankbait in either shad or bluegill. Academy's house brand crankbaits are top-notch and are fish catchers.
• A 3/8 oz. spinnerbait in white/chartreuse.
• A lipless crankbait in chrome/blue or chrome/black.
• Lots of plastics - stick with green pumpkin/watermelon colors to start.
• Zoom baby brush hogs, Texas or Carolina rigged.
• Some finesse worms in the 4" area and learn to rig a drop shot.
• I had previously downed a jig setup called a Ned rig and was proven to be quite wrong about my first impression. We slayed them on this rig last weekend when nothing else but a drop shot would get bit. Get the Z-Man ShroomZ heads in 1/15 oz. and the Z-Man TRD 2.75" sticks. I tried substituting half a Senko on the jig and didn't get bit. It's because the TRD floats at rest and the Senko sinks. The head-down/tail-up floating action makes it look like a baitfish feeding off the bottom. I subsequently ordered a whole bunch more of these from Cabela's the next day.
• Senkos. Gary Yamamoto Yamasenkos. 4" & 5". Rig them wacky style unweighted or with a very light finesse jighead. Let it sink to the bottom, dead stick it for a few seconds, then twitch it up and repeat. Or fish them weightless Texas rigged and twitch it like a jerkbait with lots of pauses in between.

Learn patience. Fishing fast seems to come easier. Learn to slow down, and find the patience to pause for long periods - dead stick it. This works with nearly any kind of presentation. I've caught bass before working out a backlash, then reeling up to have something hit my spinnerbait while it was coming off the bottom. I was using a topwater once and while I was pulling out a backlash, bass kept blasting away at it while it was just drifting around in the water. And keep your bait in the water; the more casts you make, the better your odds get.
That's my two cents from newbie to newbie. Good luck and beware; bass fishing is very addictive and can steal your attention away from schoolwork, chores, and even girls (nah). Make time for all the important things, too. Work hard, play hard.

THIS

Welcome to THE FORUM. If you are in high school check out to see if your school has a team. I believe no prior experience is necessary.

If you don't find a suitable partner to go with check out bass clubs in your area. There should be a few. Being the back seater in draw tournaments gives you a lot of different perspectives and techniques to learn from the boaters. And plenty of "spots" to go to once you get more experience.

Good Luck!

Thank you so much for everything guys !

I know many in this forum might frown a bit but I assume you are a young guy and budget may not come close to allowing a boat so let me suggest looking into a kayak. I still like mine better than an expensive bass boat and even if I wasn't already saddled with upkeep on my offshore boat I would still have one over a bass boat. Great platform to catch bass from lake, river or pond. Take a look at the kayak board on this site.

Good luck, be safe and welcome to the addiction!

You read my mind! A kayak looks like the way to go for me.

You've come to the right place to learn. Welcome!

I think it makes a better fisherman. You don't have the option of running and gunning all over the lake (junk fishing). It forces you to really fish an area, learn your lures better and gives you access to places you could never go in a bass boat. I fished from a Skeeter for many years growing up but still my PB bass came from a yak (12 lb 3 oz) and I continue to catch quality bass and numbers from the yak. Me and my son fished Coleto Creek once years ago during a big tournament out there. Went by the weigh in that afternoon and found out my top 5 would have won the tournament and my son would have won big bass by over 2.5 lbs. with his 7 lb 13 oz fish.